Publisher's Synopsis
Mother Codling lived in a windmill in Norfolk near the sea. Her husband the miller had been dead for a number of years, during which Mother Codling had kept the mill and her family going. The sails went round, and the corn was ground, and the little Codlings were clothed and fed. The mill-stones turned the red-gold grains of wheat into fine white flour, while time turned Mother Codling's children from babies into little girls and boys; and the fine white flour was changed in the oven to plump loaves of bread, while the girls and boys were changed by the passing years into healthy young men and women.The Silver Curlew, is one of Eleanor Farjeon's finest works. First published in 1953, it is an intriguing re-telling of the classic story, 'Rumpelstiltskin'. Mother Codling lives with her children in a small, Norfolk windmill. They grind their own flour, and live off the land. Being near the sea, the Codlings also supplement their diet with fish caught by their neighbour, Charlee.One day, the Codlngs receive a surprise visit from the king of Norwich, who insists that eighteen year old Doll Codling must spin a certain amount of flax for him, or he will cut off her head.Doll, terrified of dying, makes a deal with a spindle-imp, in order to save herself and her family. The only clincher is, that he returns to the castle when Doll's daughter is born and insists that he take the newborn child as payment for his work. Doll, and her younger sister Poll, try desperately to find out what the imp's name is so that they can keep the baby.
